Photo Credit: Courtesy JCB
Yountville, known as the Napa Valley’s culinary capital, already boasted some of the best restaurant in the region. Now, it also has the hautest new spot, make that spots, with flamboyant Frenchman Jean-Charles Boisset’s new JCB Tasting Salon, a wine tasting and luxury lifestyle retail destination, and Atelier by JCB, a gourmet épicerie that offers a curated assortment of gourmet culinary delights.
Maybe you’ve been to the opulent JCB Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, which opened last year. And perhaps you’ve visited his Raymond Vineyards, where a seductive Red Room and retail offerings dazzle as well, in St. Helena. You may have even been fortunate enough to experience the hedonistic Bubble Lounge at his historic Buena Vista winery in Sonoma. We guarantee that you will still be amazed to witness what the vintner has done now. In true JCB style and panache, these adjacent spaces ooze decadence and elegance while providing an innovative way to taste exclusive Napa Valley and French wines and an ideal place for gourmands to shop whether for a Wine Country picnic, entertaining at home or simply for a scrumptious meal on the terrace of their hotel suite.
Step into a world unlike no other in Yountville when you walk through the door at the JCB Tasting Salon. Sit on a cheetah print stool at the counter or at a long, gleaming wood communal table where a multitude of gold-framed mirrors above, surrounded by a show-stopping chandelier, make for the perfect selfie location. There are also sofas for the ultimate in comfort as you enjoy your surroundings and adult beverage.
The JCB collection of Napa Valley wines is featured in three distinctive flights: the Premium Collection ($30), the JCB Touch Interactive tasting at the digital touch table ($40), and The Surrealist flight ($50). With signature style, the JCB Tasting Salon is an immersive experiential discovery. It includes a first-of-its-kind interactive wine tasting experience at a digital touch table created exclusively for the tasting salon by Ideum, as well as wine preserved and served from Napa Technology wines stations, and the Surrealist Boutique, featuring Boisset’s personally-designed jewelry and Surrealist wines. The Surrealist Boutique, with its cheetah carpet naturally, includes an intimate tasting experience, inspired by the jewelry-adorned Surrealist wine, in a private lounge where wine tasting occurs atop a glass bar that showcases the JCB collection of jewelry. The Surrealist wine and the vessel in which the elixir is held is a piece of art and the inspiration for the Surrealist Boutique at the JCB Tasting Salon.
The JCB Tasting Salon features signature pieces designed by Boisset, as well as a retail boutique that showcases the finest luxury goods producers from around the world, including products such as JCB’s custom-designed jewelry collection, candles, perfumes, in addition to a collection of luxury goods Maisons: Lalique (crystal), Baccarat (crystal), Christofle (silver), Bernardaud (porcelain), to name a few, and books from Taschen, Assouline, Rizzoli, Abrams and Chronicle Books.
Locals especially have already embraced Atelier by JCB, Boisset’s first venture into the world of gastronomy. These are an elegantly presented collection of products sourced locally in Napa and Sonoma alongside discoveries from the best international producers from France, Italy, Spain and more. You’ll find salts, peppers and spices, mustards, honey, olive oil and vinegar from Boisset’s winery estates, smoked salmon, caviar, anchovies, truffles, foie gras, terrines, charcuterie, more than 120 cheeses, chocolate, specialty teas and coffees from purveyors such as Petrossian, Kollar Chocolates, Hudson Valley, Rougie, Cowgirl Creamery, Marcel Petit, Michel Blanchet, H. Forman and Sons and Angelina.
Did we mention the cheese? Fromage lovers, this place is for you! The humongous offerings are overwhelming but thankfully the knowledgeable staff is there to guide your shopping experience. A cheese and charcuterie board, the classic party tray, comes in three sizes and there are trays for two, which will help make your romantic outing complete. There’s also a wall of tempting breads, including bread flown in from France that arrives every Thursday, pasta and other palate-pleasing provisions. A variety of gourmet sandwiches ranging from vegan to prosciutto, including a $29 Iberico special (jamon Iberico Bellotta, ciabatta and EVOO) are also available.
“We are energized and honored to be welcomed by the Yountville community,” Boisset says. “We are ecstatic to share our vision of wine lifestyle, where wine is at the center of life and is surrounded by beauty, art, historical luxury products including jewelry, crystal, books and the finest of the epicurean world. From the hand-selected artisan gourmet products of Atelier, to jewelry, to fashion and art, and each of the historical maisons, JCB Yountville comprises our world and our ultimate collection, including our own creations. It represents the producers and houses that we adore the most, having been curated for years, and that we desire to share with the world as an extension of our lifestyle and savoir-vivre! This is now here for all to enjoy, to taste and to discover!”
The JCB Tasting Salon and Atelier by JCB are open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 6505 Washington St, Yountville. Both locations can be contacted for tasting reservations or further information at (707) 934-8237 or at www.jcbcollection.com.
Photos courtesy JCB
